As relations between the Southeast Asian American ally and Beijing deteriorated, the Philippines on Monday alleged Chinese coastguard ships of “intentionally” crashing into its ships as they were on a resupply mission in a disputed area of the South China Sea.
Despite the fact that no one was hurt, both sides traded accusations following the most serious incident to date in the waters near the contentious Second Thomas shoal, which occurred on Sunday.
China claimed on Sunday that the Philippine fishing boats “bumped dangerously” with the coastguard and “Chinese fishing vessels” in the area.
China’s embassy in Manila announced on Monday that it had made strong objections to the Philippines regarding its warships’ “trespassing” and urged it to stop “causing trouble & provocation” at sea as well as stop defaming China’s reputation with “baseless attacks.”
The Chinese coastguard’s actions were denounced by representatives of the Philippine National Security Council, coast guard, foreign ministry, defense ministry, and armed forces.
In a statement that it said overlooked the facts, the United States, siding with its friend, expressed formal concern.
In a phone chat on Monday with his Philippine counterpart Eduardo Ano, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan reaffirmed Washington’s support for Manila in the wake of the incident and dubbed China’s maritime operations “dangerous and unlawful,” according to the White House.
At a press briefing, Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said that “Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels, in blatant breach of international law, chased and intentionally hit” Manila’s supply boat and coastguard ship.
Teodoro declared after attending a security briefing organized by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that “this is a serious escalation of the illegal activities carried out by the Chinese government in the West Philippine Sea in utter disregard of any norm or convention of international law.”
Teodoro further praised “the support of our allies & like-minded nations including the United States, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, & European Union in condemning China’s aggression and expansionist actions.”
He claimed that the Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian had been summoned by the foreign ministry to “condemn the reckless & illegal act of the Chinese government.”
Since Marcos took office in 2022, the Philippines has pushed for deeper ties with its longtime friend, the United States, while raising concerns over China’s aggressive actions.
Contrary to the previous administration’s more pro-China position, the Marcos administration has lodged 122 diplomatic protests over China’s aggressive operations in the South China Sea.
Attempts to obstruct the Philippines’ resupply missions and the use of water cannon on August 5 were among those instances.
The routine resupply operations are for a small contingent of Philippine soldiers stationed on an old battleship that Manila purposefully grounded on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to bolster its claims to sovereignty.
The 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone of the Philippines includes the uninhabited shoal, called Manila as Ayungin & Renai Reef in China. It is strategically situated on one of the busiest trading routes in the world.
According to Medel Aguilar, a spokesman for the Philippine military, Sunday’s event was the first time Chinese ships had intentionally collided with resupply boats.
The Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia were around three of the four boats engaged in the resupply mission in one of the images from Sunday that the Philippine Coast Guard published.
On Sunday, China referred to the steps conducted by its coastguard vessels as “professional & restrained” and claimed that the Philippine vessels had “intruded in the waters of Renai.”
Teodoro declared that “China has no jurisdiction, authority, or right to conduct any activities whatsoever” in the Philippine exclusive economic zone.
Beijing’s broad claim to the South China Sea was found to be unfounded in 2016, according to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. China insists that it rejects any assertion or course of action based on the decision.